he COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated gender disparities. According to the Global Gender Gap Report 2021, women are overrepresented in industries directly affected by social distancing measures. Thus, they experience greater unemployment rates and a slower re-employment trajectory.
As organizations around the world adapt operations to this “new normal”, we must grasp this opportunity to eliminate gender inequalities, and create an enabling environment for female economic empowerment. Instituting gender-positive recovery policies, as the World Economic Forum suggests, is a good place to start.
These measures are especially crucial in combating systemic inequalities across palm oil producing regions. Human rights violations and gender discrimination remain two of the most pervasive challenges in agricultural commodity supply chains. And they occur all along the production line.
From plantation workers to smallholders, exploitation comprising informal labor, unequal pay, physically dangerous tasks and exclusion from opportunities continually occur in the agricultural sector. The prevalence of these issues points to the need to develop new policies and guidance.
The needs and challenges women face demand more nuanced and holistic solutions. Progress in this direction is fortunately underway. Initiatives recognizing and tackling women’s lack of access to land, information on farming processes, and experience in managing finances have already begun.
In 2015, the Musim Mas Group and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) formed the Indonesia Palm Oil Development for Smallholders Project to provide training to women in areas such as organizational proficiency, occupational health and safety, environmental management, financial management, and access to markets.
The Perkumpulan Pekebun Swadaya Kelapa Sawit Rokan Hulu (PPSKS-Rohul) smallholder group in Riau, Indonesia, has also advocated for more female field facilitators by acquainting women with various aspects of farming and vital first aid practices.
There is increasing recognition of the ways in which women are affected differently on plantations; but more could be done. Efforts on the ground must be supplemented by structural change. Accordingly, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) recently released its Practical Guidance on Gender Inclusion and Compliance to the 2018 RSPO Principles and Criteria (P&C) and the 2019 RSPO Independent Smallholder (ISH) Standard.
The Guidance also motivates members to identify gender imbalances within their organization, and encourages steps to be taken to ensure that women not only benefit from sustainable palm oil practices, but feel empowered to grow in their careers whilst balancing family commitments.
There is a common misconception that implementing such policies encroaches on profits or growth potential, but addressing social issues and strengthening business is not a zero-sum game. In addition to being the right thing to do morally, nurturing a gender-balanced workplace also makes good business sense.
In fact, the IFC has demonstrated how implementing more gender-aware policies can result in increased worker security, productivity, and growth through new markets and investors.
Companies that neglect to address critical social issues in a business setting are faced with additional challenges that manifest in reputational risks, quality of work, cost, and productivity.
Conversely, gender diversity in global corporations is correlated with both profitability and value creation, and can provide companies with heightened employee engagement and more holistic decision making.
Drawing from the Oxfam-advised 4R framework, companies should work to recognize contributions of women more proactively, reduce the number of work hours through assistance, and redistribute caregiving work by sensitizing men to share child care duties or liaising with the state for child care support. They should also provide better representation by involving women in planning and decision-making.
By employing this comprehensive strategy, we create a platform for women to voice their needs and interests. Their feedback, in turn, will create the momentum for a productive closed-loop cycle within the organization.
Gender equality demands action on all fronts. On our current trajectory, the gender gap will only be closed in 165 years in East Asia, 121 years in Sub-Saharan Africa and 195 years in South Asia, according to the Global Gender Gap Report 2021. This is a marked increase from 2020’s prediction of 163, 95 and 71 years respectively.
In light of this, it is imperative to realign our trajectory. But this can only happen through a concerted, collective effort.
a global affairs media network
Building Gender Equity From The Ground Up
Photo by Tim Mossholder via Unsplash.
June 21, 2021
Gender-positive recovery policies are critical to confronting gender disparities exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Such measures will be especially important to combating systemic inequalities in palm oil producing regions, where human rights violations and gender discrimination remain rampant.
T
he COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated gender disparities. According to the Global Gender Gap Report 2021, women are overrepresented in industries directly affected by social distancing measures. Thus, they experience greater unemployment rates and a slower re-employment trajectory.
As organizations around the world adapt operations to this “new normal”, we must grasp this opportunity to eliminate gender inequalities, and create an enabling environment for female economic empowerment. Instituting gender-positive recovery policies, as the World Economic Forum suggests, is a good place to start.
These measures are especially crucial in combating systemic inequalities across palm oil producing regions. Human rights violations and gender discrimination remain two of the most pervasive challenges in agricultural commodity supply chains. And they occur all along the production line.
From plantation workers to smallholders, exploitation comprising informal labor, unequal pay, physically dangerous tasks and exclusion from opportunities continually occur in the agricultural sector. The prevalence of these issues points to the need to develop new policies and guidance.
The needs and challenges women face demand more nuanced and holistic solutions. Progress in this direction is fortunately underway. Initiatives recognizing and tackling women’s lack of access to land, information on farming processes, and experience in managing finances have already begun.
In 2015, the Musim Mas Group and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) formed the Indonesia Palm Oil Development for Smallholders Project to provide training to women in areas such as organizational proficiency, occupational health and safety, environmental management, financial management, and access to markets.
The Perkumpulan Pekebun Swadaya Kelapa Sawit Rokan Hulu (PPSKS-Rohul) smallholder group in Riau, Indonesia, has also advocated for more female field facilitators by acquainting women with various aspects of farming and vital first aid practices.
There is increasing recognition of the ways in which women are affected differently on plantations; but more could be done. Efforts on the ground must be supplemented by structural change. Accordingly, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) recently released its Practical Guidance on Gender Inclusion and Compliance to the 2018 RSPO Principles and Criteria (P&C) and the 2019 RSPO Independent Smallholder (ISH) Standard.
The Guidance also motivates members to identify gender imbalances within their organization, and encourages steps to be taken to ensure that women not only benefit from sustainable palm oil practices, but feel empowered to grow in their careers whilst balancing family commitments.
There is a common misconception that implementing such policies encroaches on profits or growth potential, but addressing social issues and strengthening business is not a zero-sum game. In addition to being the right thing to do morally, nurturing a gender-balanced workplace also makes good business sense.
In fact, the IFC has demonstrated how implementing more gender-aware policies can result in increased worker security, productivity, and growth through new markets and investors.
Companies that neglect to address critical social issues in a business setting are faced with additional challenges that manifest in reputational risks, quality of work, cost, and productivity.
Conversely, gender diversity in global corporations is correlated with both profitability and value creation, and can provide companies with heightened employee engagement and more holistic decision making.
Drawing from the Oxfam-advised 4R framework, companies should work to recognize contributions of women more proactively, reduce the number of work hours through assistance, and redistribute caregiving work by sensitizing men to share child care duties or liaising with the state for child care support. They should also provide better representation by involving women in planning and decision-making.
By employing this comprehensive strategy, we create a platform for women to voice their needs and interests. Their feedback, in turn, will create the momentum for a productive closed-loop cycle within the organization.
Gender equality demands action on all fronts. On our current trajectory, the gender gap will only be closed in 165 years in East Asia, 121 years in Sub-Saharan Africa and 195 years in South Asia, according to the Global Gender Gap Report 2021. This is a marked increase from 2020’s prediction of 163, 95 and 71 years respectively.
In light of this, it is imperative to realign our trajectory. But this can only happen through a concerted, collective effort.
